"Go backstage with Eddie Trunk and Alex Lifeson during Rush's R40 tour on this episode of The Eddie Trunk Podcast. The legendary prog guitarist talks 40+ years of Rush, the band's history, picking the set list, his arthritis, performing with Andy Curran, and more!"
Before every Rush tour, the artistic team, including creative director Dale Heslip, producer Allan Weinrib, lead singer/bassist Geddy Lee (Allan’s older brother) and Howard Ungerleider start by getting together for some new ideas. Prior to their latest brainstorming session, Dale came up with an idea of going backwards in time. His idea was to stage a show that started where they left off in 2013, with the Clockwork Angels tour and all its high tech visuals, and take the audience back in time all the way to when Rush played their first gigs with a few PARs on sticks and a mirror ball. Dale pitched the idea to Geddy, who immediately called a meeting to discuss the concept further. There, everyone looked to Howard to come up with ways to make the concept come to fruition.The time periods represented in the show include:
“I was always inspired by tales of knights in shining armor who would ride into battle with a token of favor from somebody they admired,” she said. “So I thought I would do that here. I’m a huge fan of the Canadian prog-rock trio Rush. And so I went to one of their concerts a while back and from the front row I held up a banner that said, ‘May be on Jeopardy! Request token of favor to carry in thy honor’ And well apparently Neil Peart, the greatest drummer in the world, is a fan of the greatest show in the world.”Later, during the Daily Double, Morrow wagered $2112 and won! She'll be back on tomorrow night! - Thanks to Richard Benak for the headsup!
"Congratulations to Matthieu Romarin of Montpelier, France, who took the Grand Prize Winner for his moody, electronic take on Rush’s “Limelight.” Among other things, Matthieu will receive a $5,000 prize, two tickets and two meet-and-greet passes to Rush’s final R40 concert in Los Angeles on August 1."For a complete list of winners visit Indabamusic.com.
The Art of Rush, a 272 page coffee table book that delves into the 40 year relationship with Rush and their longtime artist and illustrator Hugh Syme, was released on May 22. Yesterday Billboard.com published Rush Art Director Hugh Syme on the Stories Behind the Band's Iconic Album Covers and His New Book 'Art of Rush' a new interview with Hugh were he discusses not only the book, but other topics regarding his relationship with Rush.“I was pretty lucky. I was playing keyboards in another band on the same label and I was called down the hall, like the headmaster might do with a student, and I was asked if I might like to do an album cover for them. I was like, "Sure, I'll do a cover -- [aside] LIke these guys are gonna last." (laughs). That led to playing with them on a few albums and just developing a kind of mutual respect on a lot of levels, and we just kind of continued.”- Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!
“Although we never met, I’m so sorry to hear about Chris Squire from Yes passing. As a bass player and innovator on the instrument he was a huge inspiration to me. Simply put, he was one of the greatest rock bassists of all time. My most sincere condolences to his family and friends.” — Geddy Lee
...“Rush On Demand,” providing full-length Rush concerts and documentaries streamed on demand to any device.
On the Qello Concerts Rush channel, fans get exclusive behind-the-scenes webisodes from the R40 Live tour. A new webisode airs each week through the end of the tour. Plus, Rush fans get access to Rush’s entire concert film catalog in one streaming destination—including Clockwork Angels, Rush in Rio, R30, Time Machine: Live in Cleveland, and more.
And with Qello Concerts, music lovers get the world’s largest collection of full-length concerts and documentaries spanning every genre. Watch on any connected device including: Apple TV, Roku, Playstation, Xbox, Samsung and Sony Smart TVs, all iOS, Google and Amazon devices, and on the web.
Rush on Demand with Qello will launch this Friday with the first backstage R40 webisode!
It’s not really a sequel at all, but it does take some explaining. Clockwork Lives is a novel in its own right, a story wrapped around a steampunk Canterbury Tales, and some of those tales are of familiar characters from Clockwork Angels (Golson the Strongman, The Fortune Teller, Guerrero the pickpocket, for example) and there are also many cross connections and cameos. You can read it on its own, but if you have read Clockwork Angels, you will get a bigger smile on your face.Q: Many fans felt that the novel Clockwork Angels was too short, especially when compared to your typical epics. Was this a conscious decision to keep it short? Did you feel a need to cater to those that perhaps were not avid readers, or was it just a case of sticking closely to the lyrical material without overly expanding on it?
Well, that’s better than readers thinking it was too long! Clockwork Angels was consciously an homage to Voltaire’s novel Candide, which is a very short novel, and I also wanted to follow the specific cycle of the story as told in the lyrics. I wrote it without really paying attention to the length; the book turned out exactly as long as it did. (For comparison, though, Clockwork Lives is significantly longer, and people will still complain because we didn’t include this story, or that story.)Q: Is there a chance that we might see yet another return to the steampunk world of The Watchmaker in the years to come?
Come on, now, we haven’t even published this one yet! If you read the Afterword in "The Bookseller’s Tale" (the teaser excerpt that we released a month ago), you’ll see how the whole story came about and why and how it was written. I adore this universe and I find it absolutely exhilarating, and Neil was an excellent collaborator. But as for other stories in the future, we’ll have to see how the readers enjoy this one.Q: Earlier this year you announced that you have written a new novella titled "2113" for the upcoming anthology 2113: Stories Inspired by the Music of Rush. Is there a tentative release date for this anthology at this time?
It has been completed and delivered, and ECW has a tentative release date of next April (2016).Q: Although it might be stating the obvious, I assume that "2113" is a direct sequel to the song "2112", after the elder race has returned and assumed control?
You might be safe in assuming that—but it’s more than just a direct sequel, and I guarantee there will be some very cool surprises.
Resurrection, Inc was inspired by much more than The Body Electric, but the whole Grace Under Pressure album. “Someone to talk to and someone to sweep the floor”—that’s the Servants. The Enemy Within is all about the main character, “are we the last ones left alive” is all about the Wakers. In the recent ECW reissue of Resurrection, Inc, I wrote an extensive foreword about how the book was influenced by Rush. I noted that in the acknowledgments of the original publication, and that’s how Neil and I got in touch more than 25 years ago.Q: Although it was itself inspired by a short story, it seems to me that the world described in "Red Barchetta" would be ripe for the pen. Besides those works mentioned above, have you considered writing a novelization of any other Rush songs?
As an aside, we are reprinting that original story, "A Nice Morning Drive”, in the 2113 anthology. Rush songs have inspired many of my stories and novels (some directly and some tangentially), but I haven’t looked at doing any others in particular. (I have plenty of my own books under development, and I don’t want to spend all my time with Rush!)Q: Besides the short story "Drumbeats" (co-written with Neil Peart in 1994, republished as an "Expanded Edition" ebook in 2010), did you and Neil ever make a serious attempt to collaborate before finally working together on Clockwork Angels?
We were thinking about it for a long time, and when I was writing my novel Hopscotch (2002), we did talk about doing a novel/CD crossover, but that never happened (in part because of the many things happening in his life at the time), but the published novel is dedicated in part to Neil.Q: As an avid reader, I'm interested in learning who are some of your favorite authors, both past and present? What is your all time favorite novel?
Frank Herbert and Ray Bradbury in the Sci-Fi field, and more recently Dan Simmons, but in mainstream fiction I love Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove is my favorite book ever), and The Godfather, Shōgun…good, ambitious stories.Q: Getting back to Rush, what are your top five favorite Rush albums, in no particular order?
Top five? Clockwork Angels, Grace Under Pressure (both for obvious reasons), Hold Your Fire and Roll the Bones really inspired me, and then probably 2112 because it was what turned me on to them in the first place when I was in high school. You might be surprised that I didn’t put Moving Pictures there, but it’s primarily because I have listened to it SOOOOOO much that I’ve had to retire it for now and let it rest.Q: Besides Rush, what are some of your favorite bands/albums?
The golden age of Kansas (Leftoverture, Point of Know Return), Styx (The Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight), and Alan Parsons (I, Robot; Pyramid) shaped me entirely. More currently, Dream Theater, Tool, Kamelot…and I am unabashedly, completely in love with the spectacle and lovely voice of Within Temptation.Thank you Kevin!
Thanks Eric!
New 17", 19" and 22" Crashes round out the line’s offering of crash cymbals, providing larger sizes that are so popular with drummers today. In addition, new 15" Paragon Hi-Hats also fill a need for larger hats.- Thanks to Rosmakloma for the headsup!
The new Paragon Crashes are medium weight models with large bells to boost volume, a combination of wide-groove and pinpoint lathing for increased brightness and explosive response, and hand hammered bells for increased musicality. The medium weight Hats offer fast and crisp response, and well-defined sticking.
Designed with RUSH drummer Neil Peart, Paragon cymbals deliver musicality and power in cymbals that are always dynamic and responsive. For more information, please visit sabian.com/paragon.
"For the in-depth, career-spanning cover story, senior writer Brian Hiatt trailed the band to early tour rehearsals in Los Angeles and soundchecks in Tulsa, Oklahoma, interviewing Neil Peart, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson about their lives and careers, from their childhoods to their Eighties evolution to the recording of 2012's Clockwork Angels. Throughout the story, one question looms: Can their current run of shows, which kicked off May 8th in Tulsa, really be their 'last major tour of this magnitude,' as they've called it? The band members themselves don't seem altogether sure." - RollingStone.com, June 15, 2015
"This exclusive digital download is more than just an ordinary PDF; it’s a chance to experience decades of content on one of the most influential drummers of all time—right at your fingertips. With an interactive table of contents, you can navigate the Artist Pack on your mobile phone, tablet, or desktop computer with ease. You will experience the articles and advertisements as they originally appeared in Modern Drummer magazine, from Peart’s first feature in 1980 to the 2011 cover story on the drummer’s award-winning three-DVD set, Taking Center Stage: A Lifetime of Live Performance. The Neil Peart Artist Pack includes more than 200 pages of articles about Neil Peart, articles by Neil Peart, cover-story interviews, transcriptions, classic advertisements, and more."To purchase the app click here. - Thanks to Rosmakloma for the headsup!
It was also Olivia’s first Rush concert, and she loved it. I had thought she might last a song or two, but she danced and air-drummed right to the end. Manager Ray arranged a “box” for them, high up over everything, and Olivia couldn’t get over all the people.
“There must be two-thousand-and-eighteen people,” she said.
Ray laughed and told her, “Actually there are about eleven thousand!”
Olivia looked puzzled, “Are they all here to see my dad and Uncle Alex and Uncle Geddy?”
When Ray assured her they were, she said, “That’s too silly.”
Then she wondered, “Do they know he’s my dad?”
Ray laughed and said, “They probably do.”
During intermission she came backstage and ran up to me, arms raised for me to pick her up. Still wearing her big red “ear defenders,” she was so excited that she bounced in my arms.
“Daddy! It was great! I only didn’t like the shipwreck” (rearscreen video in “The Wreckers,” to her an echo of the dark beginning of Frozen, a movie she finds rightly unbearable) “and the explosion!” (Pyro-man Boom-Boom’s fireworks in “Far Cry.”)
The Art of Rush, a 272 page coffee table book that delves into the 40 year relationship with Rush and their longtime artist and illustrator Hugh Syme, was released on May 22. Yesterday the Daily Tribune (Michigan) published a new interview with Hugh were he discussed the book.“From the very beginning I could sense that this band tried to make every album they do musically different, and felt the same way about the artwork. I didn’t want a logo to overpower everything, as it does in the case of Megadeth or Yes and so many other bands who’ve got a logo that needs to be front and center. I was just kind of lucky to find a band that was also willing to deviate from the norm every time and that allowed me the luxury and a lot of latitude to respond to each title as a unique event and not get stuck into one sort of style. We weren’t stuck in any kind of template.”Click here for more. - Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!
"It is the first time the band will have filmed in their hometown in almost 20 years with the recording in 1997 at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre on the Test for Echo tour. Prior to that, the band filmed a concert video and later released an accompanying album for the Grace Under Pressure tour in 1984 at Maple Leaf Gardens."
Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee guest star in Future User's new "Voodoo Juju" video. Frontman/bassist Tim Commerford explains:"I got the idea for the video after I ruptured a disc in my back and needed emergency surgery. As someone who often goes under the knife, I've always been a bit overwhelmed by the process, paperwork, approvals and costs. Luckily, I have insurance, but it got me thinking about all the people in this country who can't afford medical treatment. I read an article recently that said there are over 40 million uninsured people living in the States, which is insane. I talked my doctor into letting me shoot the surgery, then explained the concept to Tom (Morello), who was totally into the idea. And of course, you can't talk about universal health care without bringing Canada into the conversation, so I called Geddy (Lee) and Alex (Lifeson) and asked if they'd be part of it and was blown away when they said yes. And all that footage of my back being opened up is real, no joke."Check out the video below. For more visit blabbermouth.net.
It’s a book about a rock-and-roll legend who loses everything of meaning and embarks on a journey on the back of a motorcycle only to face his greatest fear: The fan. The drummer from Rush, Neil Peart, inspires the story.
"He’s a big mentor, inspiration for me and my writing over the years,” Gibbons said. “When the opportunity came to come to Alaska and experience Alaska and all of its wonder, everything just kind of sprouted from there.”Gibbons came up with the idea for the book after going through a personal turmoil similar to Peart. Published in March 2013, the book is available here. For more info visit ktva.com
The Art of Rush, a 272 page coffee table book that delves into the 40 year relationship with Rush and their longtime artist and illustrator Hugh Syme, was officially released on May 22. The stunning book begins with a foreword penned by Neil Peart, and contains original illustrations, paintings, photography, and the incredible stories behind each album that he has designed with the band since 1975.
I've added 31 new wallpaper images from the R40 Tour Book to my "Rush Art Gallery of Desktop Wallpaper" Tour Books page. Included are the usual beautiful production photos, mixed with live photos from the last tour, recent rehearsal photos, and a few from the archives. In addition, in case you missed my previous post, the complete tour book transcript is available here. Enjoy!
Alex on how Neil took to the R40 Tour: "[Neil] was resistant to it until he started prepping [for the tour] and realised: hey, I can still play my drums pretty good! And then getting into rehearsals with us, there’s that whole camaraderie that he really adores. So when he’s back into the stream, he loves the swim."In addition, Classic Rock has posted an "EXCLUSIVE: RusH Q&A - The Bonus bits", 'The bits of our interview with the Canadian prog legends that didn't make it into the magazine'. You can read it here (watch out, there are some R40 setlist spoilers). Included are comments about many of the band's releases over the years, songs that did or didn't work, thoughts on playing old "pretentious" proggy songs on tour, their plans for when the music is finally over, and more info regarding the chances of the R40 tour coming to Europe:
Geddy on what could bring on the end of touring: "if anything is going to mean that we can’t tour any more like we used to, it’s more than likely going to be the arthritis. Because that’s something that will directly affect his ability to play. And if I was going out on stage and I could not play the way I want to play, or the way I have played in the past, there is no way I would want to do it; I would not want to go out there and be a shadow of my former self. "
Will there be another Rush album?: Alex: "...I’d love to make another record. It’s such a fun experience to make a record.I’m sure if we start coming up with some stuff, Neil would be right in there. He’d love that." Geddy: "Do I feel like we have the mojo to do more records? Absolutely. But I can’t tell you that the other guys agree. I’m not a hundred per cent sure that Neil agrees, I’m pretty sure Alex agrees."
Geddy: There’s nothing on the cards right now. I would say that there are those of us that would prefer to do some dates in the UK and even some European dates, and there’s an opportunity, once we get rolling, to see what we might want to add. But let’s just say that at this point that Neil’s made it clear that he’s good with this US tour being the last group of dates.- Thanks to RushFanForever for the headsup!
Alex: You never know. These past couple of months have been pivotal. It’s shown us, after a year and a half off, how much we really love doing what we’re doing. I think that’s really important in Neil’s case. But when you’ve only got so much time to play with it’s tough....But I’ll say one thing: Geddy feels it’s important that we go back at this time to the UK, to acknowledge the support you’ve given us for all these years. And I agree with him.
AND THE WINNER IS: Congratulations to Andy Hays, the ONLY person who correctly guessed the opening song. However, Andy has graciously offered to pass it on to the runner up: the winner is Jeff Travis of Modesto who guessed both the second and third songs. Jeff, check your mail later this week for your Chronicles DVD.The time is now again! The R40 Tour starts one week from today in Tulsa, and to celebrate, I'm having a contest for Power Windows readers where I am giving away a Rush DVD. Correctly guess the first TWO songs of the opening night of the R40 Tour, in the order they are played, and you will be in the running to win Rush's Chronicles DVD Collection. To enter, simply email your answers (song 1, song 2), along with your name and mailing address, to rushr40songs@yahoo.com.
"As the three of us discussed the songs we would play, it was all about how we and the fans might be able to live it all again - just this once. Because it was quite a ride, wasn't it?" - Neil Peart, "Live It All Again"Neil Peart has written another outstanding essay which is included in the R40 tour book. In addition, Alex Lifeson tells us some stories from the earlier days, such as renting a car and returning it with 11,000 miles on it, and Geddy talks about his latest obsession, collecting basses.
“He was the one that when I was a fourteen-year-old fellow I thought, ‘Boy, I’d sure like to make those sounds.’ I’m still trying to do that.
"When I was a kid I didn’t have a lot of money so I joined one of those RCA Record Clubs where you got ten records for a penny and then you spend the next three years trying to pay back the albums that they send you after you don’t get back to them in time.
"One of those albums I got was All The World’s A Stage which was Rush’s first live record. I pretty much wore that thing out. Geddy was the one, he was my first big hero. The way he phrases his runs when he’s improvising, I’ll hit a run every now and then and go, yep, that’s Geddy.
"There’s one song we have in particular called Moron TV that was off the last record where the middle section is very much Rush and it’s an homage to those guys. I helped induct them into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame. I brought my Fungi band which was cello, marimba, drums and bass, and we played Spirit Of Radio.”
"We were both 14 years old going to Fisherville Junior High in Willowdale in 1966, right at the start of the psychedelic era. We were good friends and, like everyone, we bought all the newest albums, tried to look like hippies, and even took the bus and subway down to Yorkville to see what we had to look like to be cool.Alex Lifeson was also present at this concert, and met Mandala's guitarist, Domenic Troiano, after the show. Back in 2013, in a press release announcing the annual Domenic Troiano Guitar Awards, Alex was quoted as saying:
"We went to our first really big show at North York Centennial Arena featuring the two hottest bands in Toronto: The Mandala and The Paupers. The Mandala started the show with their great Blue-Eyed Soul Review. They were dressed in trademark cherry-striped suits. Joey Cherowski was on organ, Whitey Glann on drums, Dominic Trianio on guitar and Don Elliot was on bass. George Oliver sang and danced and jumped around on stage in a frenzy, which earned him his trade mark as the hardest working singer in soul music. The only time he slowed down was when he did the splits and ripped the ass out of his pants, which he changed while the band played an instrumental, the song 'Toronto ’67'. Both me and Ged couldn’t believe what we were seeing. This was great, this was unbelievable. We watched in awe as they finished their set.
"The next band were The Paupers. They started their set with their new hit song Magic People. There was a sound: the fuzz bass played by Denny Gerrard. Me and Geddy looked at each other and decided right then that we were going to play bass, too. Denny stood in his sluggo cap and pounded out an amazing riff that nobody had ever heard before. Little did we know that, during the show, the group, led by Skip Prokop and Adam Mitchell, would let Denny loose to do a 10 min bass solo. When he finished, completely exhausted, he left everyone in the audience stunned by what they’d just heard.
"That week, we begged, borrowed and maybe stole money to buy our own bass guitars and two small amps. I took my bass home and started practicing. I read my 'Introduction to Bass Playing' book. I did scales and learned how to tune the bass. After a couple of weeks, I thought I was getting the hang of playing and sounding pretty good, so I went over to Geddy’s house to show him. When I got there, he had his bass out and one of those old portable record players where, when you opened it up, the speaker would be in the lid. I got out my bass out and said “'kay, let’s do some scales.' Geddy looked at me and said, 'Um, I can’t do scales.' My confidence started to rise. 'I’ll show you,' I told him. 'Just follow me.' Maybe I did have some talent.
"Geddy said, 'Wait, before we do that, let’s listen to this record.' I told him that would be fine. The record started on the cheap portable player and he said, 'Listen, can you hear the bass?' Then he said, 'Look at this,' and started playing. His bass came alive. It pounded the speakers of the 12″ amp and sounded great. I didn’t know if he was copying the record or not because I couldn’t even hear the bass on the record. He did the same thing on the next song and the next one after that. I went home and put my bass away and I don’t think that I ever picked it up again. I guess, looking back, it would have been tough for anyone to compare with the best bass guitar player in the world. I think that both of us made the right decision."
"On June 30, 1967, I saw the Mandala at the North York Centennial Arena. At the side of the stage Donny gave me his autograph and his Mandala button. He told me how important it was to keep practicing and if I worked hard, I might get the chance to stand on stage and play for people some day. I was beaming. He was my first real inspiration and to this day I have a deep love and admiration for a man who truly knew the meaning of soul. I am proud to be a humble part of his enduring influence".- Thanks to RushIsABand for the headsup!
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